(A) note that, based on the inadequate information currently available about the proposed WestConnex project, the stated objectives of the project – additional freight capacity and urban renewal – will not be achieved;
(B) note that the project as currently configured and funded will have unacceptable impacts on the City of Sydney, including:

(C) request that the Lord Mayor write to the Premier and the Minister for Roads informing them that, for the reasons outlined above, Council opposes the WestConnex project in its current form and requests them to:

(i) revisit the configuration of the project in the context of its stated objectives;
(ii) defer any moves to finalise tenders or contracts for the project until standard planning and approvals processes are complete;
(iii) publicly release all relevant information associated with the project including the full business case, all traffic modelling and impact assessments, and the proposed locations of portals and ventilation stacks;
(iv) release information on any further potential road widening, clearways and changes to signalised intersections within the City of Sydney; and
(v) establish an ongoing working group consisting of the WestConnex Delivery Authority and the City of Sydney to share information, resolve identified problems and develop alternative solutions where necessary; and

(D) request the Chief Executive Officer prepare an independent assessment of the impacts of the proposed WestConnex project on the City of Sydney, including traffic modelling and the feasibility of alternatives such as rail freight linking Port Botany and Sydney Airport to the western suburbs.

From an ARAG member:

I attended the Council meeting on Monday night.

Councillors Scott, Doutney & Vithoulkas made great impassioned speeches in support. Kemmis made a strong supportive statement, Mant made detailed supportive comment, Green made short supportive comments, Kok did not speak.

Mandla made a long rambling statement focussing on his accusation that the Mayor’s behaviour embarrassed him at the briefing by WestConnex to Councillors. He believed she attacked the head of WestConnex for which he later made personal apology to WestConnex.

I don’t think he actually addressed most of the issues in the minute.

He did argue against Recommendation D stating the Council’s CEO could not prepare an assessment that was “independent”. He was advised by the Mayor that normal procedure would be that CEO would actually engage an independent consultant to do this type of work.

Forster agreed with Mandla, spoke disdainfully and said it was just nimbyism.

Other Councillors stated they did not see it as an attack. Vithoulkas went on to congratulate the Mayor on her strong and totally appropriate comments and questions at that meeting with WestConnex.

The plan

The State and Federal Governments are proposing spending $15 billion dollars (more than $3,000 for every man, woman and child in Sydney) extending the M4 and M5. They are doing this based on a business plan that contains no hard numbers on traffic volumes. Simply to pay the interest on that much money would require half a million vehicles a day to use the new tunnels – more than double the patronage of the current M4 and M5 combined.

From 2019 and 2023, at least, the M5 extension is to end at Sydney Park – as if the surrounding roads were not already at capacity. No modelling on the impact of the additional traffic has been released. There will be widening of the roads immediately next to the park, at the cost of up to 80 houses and a good chunk of Sydney Park, but not the roads they feed.

The government appears to have dismissed public transport out of hand, even though kilometres driven per person are falling, while usage of public transport, cycling and walking are all increasing.

There is no information about where the exhaust stacks will be, or whether they will be filtered.

Sample letters

We encourage you to write to your local MPs, and to one or all of the State Upper House crossbench MPs who hold the balance of power [Click here for contact details].

We don’t want to encourage form letters. Any letter is better than no letter, but a short letter saying what your personal concerns are is is worth more than a long form letter.

To help inspire you in writing your own letter, here are some letters that people have been sending: